On Senator Xenophon's position, Ms Bligh said the debate over the levy would "be well and truly over" by the time Queensland knew whether or not it could obtain cost-effective insurance from the international market.

The government is canvassing its insurance options but won't accept a policy that doesn't cover damage to roads, and expects the insurance investigation process to take more than a year.

"I don't expect to get an answer from the international market anywhere inside of about 12 months. The levy in the federal parliament will have been resolved one way or another before then."